Rune Factory 4 Special Reviews
It may be a good case for fans of the series who didn't play it in the past, but its style is now outdated.
Review in Greek | Read full review
This comfortable but clunky reboot of the part farming simulator, part dungeon crawler, part life sim is very much a product of its time
I have a strange attraction to farming video games, well, the good ones anyway. Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon and all that Jazz. It seems strange to a lot of people that someone who adores Monster Hunter, Dark Souls and Battlefield, can appreciate a finely grown turnip, but there you go
After a good twenty to thirty hours with Rune Factory 4 Special, I gotta say it was a good time. This is a game with quite a lot to do, between combat, farming, requests, and planning festivals, plus whatever other jobs you have as a supposed prince. It’s hard to tell how much there would be to do after finishing the story, but at least with a lot to occupy your time until then, Rune Factory 4 Special could be a good fifty to one hundred hour time sink if you need something nice and long to pass the time.
Rune Factory 4: Special packs a whole lot of decent content into a singel package. The game is only let down by some poor decision in the porting department.
The game is gorgeous to look at with wonderful pre-rendered backgrounds and character portraits, and the story kept me wanting to play so I could learn more. The farming feels a little bare-bones, although the time you spend out exploring dungeons makes the game still very engaging.
You can still clearly see the 3DS roots in Rune Factory 4 Special's PC port, but it's still a fantastic game worth enjoying if you haven't already played it. It does have some keyboard input issues, particularly with name entry, and some aspects were clearly not intended to be viewed at a high resolution, however it does put forward enough effort to work on PC that makes it a decent platform to play on.
Rune Factory 4 Special was my first introduction to this series, which combines the farming simulation elements of Harvest Moon with a traditional action RPG, and suffice it to say, I greatly like it, despite its flaws.
In general it is a good game, entertaining and that will have many hours of Selphia pending. I recommend it if you like JRPG with anime aesthetics and farm management, since the mix is quite good and reminds me of other titles like Little Dragon Café or, obviously, Harvest Moon saga.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Rune Factory 4 takes a second chance with this Special edition, and while this is definitely the best version of the game, it's hard to recommend it to anyone who's already played the original.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Rune Factory 4 Special offers up a different take on the beloved farm/life sim genre, focusing more on RPG elements. This makes Rune Factory 4 a good entry point for newcomers to the genre due to its ease of entry. At the same time, Rune Factory 4 simplifies a great deal of what makes this genre special. The catch-22 is accessibility versus gameplay depth here. While still a good game in its own right, it limits its own potential by diversifying so vastly.
Rune Factory 4 Special is a delightful game with a ton of content to keep you busy, despite feeling a little overwhelming in the beginning. Good localisation and post-game content around character episodes and a Newly-wed mode will please returning fans.
Running an agricultural kingdom is no easy task, but Rune Factory 4 Special knows how it claims the importance of agriculture as a fundamental asset for the life of the planet. It teaches us, through training and informative missions, that having a powerful and solid food producing sector, capable of resisting moments with changes and guaranteeing an adequate supply is fundamental. In this sense, Neverland's work uses with ease the role of farmer at the same time that it sows a seed loaded with fantasy adventures, thus cultivating relationships with the inhabitants and the hobby of role-playing.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
With a bit of a window remaining until the release of Animal Crossing, if you’ve been looking for something relaxing and structured to occupy your attention you’ll be in luck with Rune Factory...
Rune Factory 4 Special is an addictive game that mixes simulation and action RPG elements just right. Although the new version can't fully update the game, keeping it feeling like a 3DS title with a simple filter, it's still a pretty exciting title for its gameplay.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Despite some flaws, Rune Factory 4 Special is still a ton of fun for players wanting that mix of combat and farming. After nearly a decade, though, I hope this is the last we see of it being ported around, at least for now. Time has moved a bit past it, and other games in the genre offer smoother experiences. With Rune Factory 5 set to finally hit US shores early next year, hopefully, we’ll soon be enjoying the evolution of Rune Factory 4 we’ve needed for some time.
Overall, I certainly enjoyed Rune Factory 4 Special. It is an incredibly addictive game that has eaten up hours of my time and will continue to do so in the future as I play through again and again. The only complaints I have are fairly minor, such as a lack of explanations of a few points or the occasional case of a follower character getting in the way. It's a well-done remake.
Rune Factory 4 Special is an easy recommendation to any RPGamer who enjoys farming and life sim games, as well as for those casual Stardew Valley fans that wished for more variety in the combat aspects. It’s been long enough since the 3DS release that this game can be enjoyed fresh again, and for those who missed it the first time around, now’s the perfect time to give it a try.
Rune Factory 4 Special is a robust farm-simulator and RPG experience that, while occasionally dull, is a deep and truly relaxing experience. There’s no shortage of things to do from the get-go, and the detail put into combat and the various leveling systems will surely please even those who lean more into the RPG side of things.
Rune Factory 4 Special is a solid addition to the Switch lineup. It was smart for the first Story of Seasons game to come to the Nintendo Switch to be a Rune Factory one since the added combat and story separate it more from the juggernaut that is Stardew Valley. Despite the natural comparisons between the two games, there’s more than enough room for both.